UMT Could Replace Draft

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED
January 17, 1952

James W. Wadsworth, chairman of the National Security Commission, told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday that Universal Military Training could be substituted for the draft, provided the world situation gets no worse.

Wadsworth emphasized that the transition period to UMT would take only two or three years and that the government would save billions of dollars a year. The Commission said that a start should be made as soon as possible. Wadsworth added that the commission did not have enough information on world security to set a date.

Meanwhile, former M.I.T. president Dr. Karl T. Compton said that UMT could "become a great moral force in this nation." Compton asserted that communities near training camps would be encouraged to form citizens' committees "interested in the improvement" of trainees' welfare. Compton thought that this would make "a wholesome and healthful atmosphere for our young men in uniform."